Aussie PM meets Trump with critical minerals on offer
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, touting his country’s abundant critical minerals as a way to loosen China’s grip over global supplies.At the same time, Albanese is hoping to secure Trump’s backing for a 2021 pact to arm Australia with silent, nuclear-powered attack submarines.Australians have a mostly unfavourable view of the Trump administration, polling shows, though the country relies on the United States to balance China’s expanding military clout in the Pacific region.In the run-up to the White House talks, Australia is selling itself to Washington as a future source of critical minerals including rare earths — of which China is by far the world’s largest supplier.Australia sits on deposits of lithium, cobalt and manganese as well as rare earth metals used in technologies from semiconductors to defence hardware, electric cars and wind turbines.Albanese, who said he looked forward to a “positive and constructive” meeting with Trump, announced plans in April for a strategic reserve of critical minerals to provide to “key partners” such as the United States.The reserve is designed to help relax China’s chokehold on global critical minerals production, which it has been accused of leveraging to pressure trade partners.Trump this month threatened 100-percent tariffs on China in response to its latest rare earths export curbs, though he later eased his stance with a social media post saying: “It will all be fine.”- China the ‘focal point’ -Australia’s economy minister, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, said his country had “a lot to offer the world” in critical minerals.”We will engage with our partners to make sure that we can be a very reliable supplier to meet the critical minerals needs of this country, here in the US, and other markets around the world,” Chalmers told a news conference in Washington on Friday.But the treasurer has also taken a swipe at impediments to global trade, raising concerns over the economic impact of US tariffs, including a 10-percent levy on Australian goods, and the US-China trade spat.On defence, Australia’s government will be hoping for Trump’s blessing of the 2021 agreement to equip its navy with at least three US Virginia-class submarines within 15 years, and the technology to build its own vessels in the future.The AUKUS submarine deal between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States could cost Australia up to US$235 billion over the next 30 years, according to Canberra.The nuclear-powered vessels lie at the heart of Australia’s strategy of improving its long-range strike capabilities in the Pacific.But the Trump administration said in June it had put AUKUS under review to ensure it aligned with his “America First agenda”, with some critics saying the United States did not produce enough Virginia-class submarines to supply Australia as well as its own navy.Australia’s government says it has received no indications that Washington will withdraw support for AUKUS, which is expected to be raised in the White House talks.”AUKUS should be given the green light and once again confirmed as the foundation of Australia’s security and vital to the United States’ interest in competing with a rising Beijing-led authoritarian axis,” predicted Justin Bassi, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think tank partly funded by Australia’s Department of Defence.”China will likely be the focal point of discussions even if it is rarely mentioned publicly: AUKUS, critical minerals, cyber and critical technologies are frontline agenda topics, and all are about China.”
Israel says halting Gaza strikes after accusing Hamas of violating truce
Israel said it had resumed enforcing a Gaza ceasefire after carrying out dozens of deadly strikes on Hamas positions Sunday, having accused the group of targeting its troops in the most serious violence since the nine-day-old truce began.Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said at least 45 people had been killed across the territory in Israeli strikes.Four hospitals in Gaza confirmed the death toll of 45 to AFP, saying they had received the dead and wounded.Israel’s military said it was looking into the reports of casualties.Later Sunday, the military said it had “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” but vowed to “respond firmly to any violation of it”.The strikes began Sunday in response to what the Israeli military said in a statement had been a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.The military had “begun a series of strikes against Hamas terror targets in the southern Gaza Strip”, the statement added.The Islamist group denied the accusations, one official accusing Israel of fabricating “pretexts” to resume the war.In a separate statement, the Israeli military said two of its soldiers “fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip”. The prime minister’s office later said they were killed in the city of Rafah.A security official also told AFP that Israel was suspending the entry of aid into Gaza due to ceasefire violations.Israel repeatedly cut off aid to the territory during the war, exacerbating dire humanitarian conditions, with the United Nations saying it caused a famine in northern Gaza.- ‘Blood has returned’ -The truce in the Palestinian territory, brokered by US President Donald Trump and taking effect on 10 October, halted more than two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas.The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and was proposed alongside an ambitious roadmap for Gaza’s future. But it has quickly faced challenges to its implementation. “Earlier today, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and opened fire on IDF (army) forces,” in Rafah, the military said in a statement.”The IDF responded with air strikes by fighter jets and artillery fire, targeting the Rafah area,” the statement said. Palestinian witnesses told AFP clashes erupted in the southern city in an area still held by Israel.One witness, a 38-year-old man who asked not to be named, said that Hamas had been fighting a local Palestinian gang known as Abu Shabab but the militants were “surprised by the presence of army tanks”.”The air force conducted two strikes from the air,” he added.Abdullah Abu Hasanin, 29, from Al‑Bureij camp in central Gaza where Israel launched strikes, said: “The situation is as if the war has returned anew.”We had hoped the agreement would hold, but the occupation respects nothing — not an agreement, not anything.”He said he had rushed to the site of the bombing to help, adding: “The scene is indescribable. Blood has returned again.”AFP images from Bureij showed Palestinians running for cover from the strikes, as well as the dead and wounded arriving at Deir al-Balah hospital, accompanied by grieving relatives.- ‘Security illusion’ -Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas would “pay a heavy price for every shot and every breach of the ceasefire”, adding Israel’s response would “become increasingly severe”.A statement from Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, reaffirmed the group’s commitment to the ceasefire.Israel, it said, “continues to breach the agreement and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes”.Hamas’s armed wing insisted on Sunday that the group was adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel and had “no knowledge” of any clashes in Rafah.Under Trump’s 20-point plan, Israeli forces have withdrawn beyond the so-called Yellow Line. That leaves them in control of around half of Gaza, including the territory’s borders but not its main cities.Hamas in turn has released 20 surviving hostages and is in the process of returning the remaining bodies of those who have died.The war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has killed at least 68,159 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.- Bodies returned -On Sunday, Israel identified the latest two bodies returned overnight as Ronen Engel, a photojournalist and volunteer ambulance driver, and Thai farm worker Sonthaya Oakkharasri.Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Sunday, bringing the total number handed over to 150, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.The issue of hostage bodies still in Gaza has become a sticking point in the ceasefire implementation.On Saturday, Israel had linked the reopening of the main gateway into the territory, the Rafah crossing, to the recovery of all of the deceased.The group has said it needs time and technical assistance to recover the remaining bodies from under Gaza’s rubble.burs-jj/rlp
Espagne: Mbappé sauve encore le Real Madrid à Getafe
Un éclair au bout de l’ennui: au terme d’un match soporifique, l’attaquant français Kylian Mbappé a de nouveau été le sauveur du Real Madrid dimanche à Getafe (1-0), permettant au géant espagnol de reprendre la tête de la Liga devant le FC Barcelone.De retour sur les terrains après sa blessure à la cheville droite avec l’équipe de France, Mbappé a fait la différence en fin de match d’une frappe du droit à l’entrée de la surface (80e, 1-0), sur un excellent service du jeune turc Arda Güler.”Mbappé et Güler ont une connexion incroyable, et avoir ce genre d’association dans une équipe c’est très important”, a réagi l’entraîneur madrilène Xabi Alonso.Ce dixième but en neuf journées du N.10 merengue permet au Real (1er, 24 points) de reprendre la première place avec deux longueurs d’avance sur son éternel rival, le FC Barcelone (2e, 22 points) à une semaine du Clasico.”C’est un but fondamental, parce qu’on a eu du mal à générer des occasions et à mettre du rythme. Ce sont trois points cruciaux, ce fut un match très compliqué”, a estimé Alonso.Le buteur français, rassurant sur son état physique, avait jusqu’ici buté sur la défense adverse et le gardien David Soria (8e, 32e), manquant également le cadre de peu à plusieurs reprises (9e, 66e), notamment sur un coup franc dévié par le dos de son coéquipier Eder Militao (72e).Valeureux, mais souvent à la limite dans l’engagement, les joueurs de Getafe ont fini par exploser et ont terminé la partie à neuf, après les expulsions d’Alan Nyom (77e) et Alex Sancris (84e).Côté madrilène, c’est le gardien belge Thibaut Courtois qui s’est fait un belle frayeur dans le temps additionnel sur une sortie salvatrice dans les pieds du jeune anglais Abu Kamara (90e+6), où il s’est fait percuter au niveau du genou droit, dont il avait été opéré l’an dernier.Les 22 joueurs n’ont pas disputé les premières secondes de la rencontre, comme sur les autres pelouse de Liga, pour protester contre la délocalisation du match Villarreal – FC Barcelone aux Etats-Unis.Plus tôt dimanche, la Real Sociedad (18e, 6 points), en grande difficulté depuis le début de saison, a quitté la dernière place en ramenant un point de son déplacement à Vigo (17e, 7 points) grâce à un but tardif de l’ancien parisien Carlos Soler à la 89e minute (1-1). Large vainqueur (3-0) à Levante (14e, 8 points), le Rayo Vallecano (10e, 11 points), porté par un doublé de l’international espagnol Jorge De Frutos, a réintégré la première partie de tableau.Mbappé, auteur dimanche de son 18e but en 14 rencontres toutes compétitions confondues en club et en sélection, tentera d’ajouter une nouvelle victime à sa liste mercredi en Ligue des champions face à la Juventus, pour poursuivre son impressionnante moisson.